Titans front seven very good against the run: Gap discipline, Run fits

Good matchup for Schaub after last week versus Jets high percentage pressure defense; Titans not a high percentage blitz defense, especially in normal and distance situations – Schaub had a chance to comfortably develop timing and rhythm

Johnson 19 yd TD came against man free: Johnson motioned across the formation to dictate the clean release, and then ran a wheel route against CB Harper

Kearse gave RT Winston a lot of trouble in the first quarter: He was quicker and stronger

S Griffin totally fooled by the play action on Johnson’s 72 yd TD

LT Brown a far better pass protector than he was as a rookie: Much quicker with his sets, Better balance and footwork, Uses his hands better

Texans a good screen team, both with Slaton and Daniels

Schaub very comfortable in this game: Consistently threw with timing and anticipation – Great seam throw to Dreessen in the second quarter

Slaton did not look as quick or as fast as he did last season; Not as laterally elusive and explosive

Brown was the Texans feature back for the majority of the second half; Too many fumbles by Slaton, Kubiak did not trust him in a critical game

Titans secondary had a number of mental breakdowns, Confusion and poor reactions to routes and route combinations

FALCONS OFFENSE V. PANTHERS DEFENSE

Panthers aligned with a 9 man front when the Falcons had “22” personnel (2 backs and 2 TEs) on the field – Turner 7 yds on the Falcons second series

Falcons do not look to outnumber the defense in the run game, They look to win the physical battles at the point of attack

WR White a willing and physical blocker in the run game

Munnerlyn was the Panthers nickel corner, He aligned outside with Marshall moved inside over the slot

Jenkins aligned at TE on his 24 yd catch in the first quarter; He was slightly flexed away from LT Baker, with Gonzalez in a wing position off Jenkins outside shoulder

Gonzalez 24 yd TD came out of “22” personnel versus Panthers 9 in the box

Falcons as diverse with personnel and formations as any offense in the league

Panthers played “Tampa 2” at times versus running personnel and running formations – That made no sense to me, since in “Tampa 2” the MLB’s initial step is back; Why would you do that against a running team like the Falcons?

Panthers a lot of zone based coverage schemes, They were vulnerable because they did not generate any consistent pass rush pressure – Booker 27 yds on second quarter TD drive was a great example

Ryan very decisive with his reads and throws

Rookie DE Brown did not generate any pass rush pressure versus LT Baker

Panthers increased their blitz frequency in the second quarter: It was predominantly zone blitz concepts

Ryan has already developed great trust with Gonzalez, Will throw it to Gonzalez even when he is well covered

Got the impression the Panthers predominant zone coverage schemes were predictable, It’s a defense reliant on front four pressure and they got none versus Ryan

Rookie DT Harris replaced Leonard when he broke his ankle

When the Falcons went slot out of base personnel with the TE on the opposite side, the Panthers matched up to the slot side as the strong side, walking the OLB over slot and bringing the CB over the TE on the closed side – Falcons had success running both the TE side and the slot side

Falcons a run based offense, in terms of personnel, formations and play calling; They look to stay ahead of the down so they can dictate with their physical running game – They count on Ryan to convert manageable third downs, and they take calculated down field shots in the passing game based on tendency

Jenkins excellent quickness off the ball, especially as a pass rusher; Very quick laterally – Jenkins the Packers best DL

WR Coles a willing and physical blocker in the run game, Allowed Benson to get on the edge on a number of runs

ILB Barnett looked very tentative and uncertain in his movements, Did not trust what he saw

DC Capers uses Woodson as a movable chess piece, similar to the way Lebeau uses Polamalu

Both of Palmer’s interceptions were bad: The first was the right choice of who to throw to but the wrong choice of how to throw it given the man coverage positioning of Woodson, The second was the wrong read which produced a bad throw

Packers front seven was consistently moved in the run game by the Bengals OL

When Collins got hurt, Bush replaced him at safety

Bengals very patient with the run game, and they ran the ball out of base offensive sets

Packers defense was passive, not aggressive: A function of the Bengals approach, in terms of personnel, formations and play calling

Overall, the Packers defense looked tentative; Their front seven was subpar, with the exception of a couple of plays by Jenkins – This was not an aggressive, attacking unit

Bengals OL was impressive in the run game, inconsistent in pass protection

Palmer, other than the 2 interceptions, looked in command, and he threw the ball well

PACKERS OFFENSE V. BENGALS DEFENSE

OLB Rivers very impressive on film: Reads quickly, Flows to the ball, Takes on blocks with excellent technique

Brandon Johnson was the Bengals nickel LB, He can really run; Bengals utilize him at times to cover TEs man-to-man

Grant not a laterally elusive runner, Not really quick and explosive, Not a stop and start runner; He’s a one cut downhill runner with short area burst – If you make him have to change direction in the backfield, his production drops dramatically

Starting S Crocker was the nickel corner aligned over the slot; Ndukwe came in as the second safety – Crocker vulnerable in the slot, Will struggle to match up to good slot receivers like the Steelers Ward

I was surprised the Packers did not attack and exploit Crocker in the slot more than they did

The Bengals weaknesses on defense are their nickel back with Crocker in the slot, and their safeties, particularly Williams, in pass coverage

Packers offense lacked rhythm, Rodgers did not look comfortable in the pocket

Rookie DE Johnson very impressive running down the seam in coverage with Driver; Very athletic for a big man – Johnson played RDE in the nickel package, with Odom inside at DT

Bengals a lot of versatility on their defense, and their front seven can run

When LT Clifton got hurt, the Packers re-aligned their OL: Colledge moved from LG to LT, Spitz moved from C to LG and Wells came in at C

Bengals played predominantly out of a 2 deep shell in their nickel package

In the fourth quarter, the Bengals increased their frequency of single high safety coverages with more pressure

Colledge had a lot of trouble with Odom in pass protection, although not all of Odom’s sacks were Colledge’s fault

Bengals a well disciplined defense, They understood and consistently executed their responsibilities

Bengals had success with DL stunts in the second half against the revamped Packers OL

SAINTS OFFENSE V. EAGLES DEFENSE

No QB manipulates defenses better than Brees; He moves defenders with his head, eyes shoulders and body – Great example was Colston’s first TD

DE Cole stood out, especially playing the run: Excellent ability to slide down the line and make plays

Saints very diverse with their personnel and formations: Their first TD drive was 8 plays, and they aligned in a different formation on each play

Hanson was the Eagles nickel corner, aligned over the slot

LT Bushrod is a weak link on the Saints OL, especially in pass protection

Brees 3 most defining attributes: Pocket movement, manipulation of the defense and accuracy

Bush has no natural power and strength as a runner

Eagles also used 2-4-5 personnel, with Gocong one of the standup OLBs

Eagles defense very reactive, Was kept off balance and out of rhythm by the Saints offense, Did not blitz as much as I’m used to seeing – The loss of Jim Johnson?

Eagles LBs not fast or athletic, They’re big old-school players with toughness but not speed

Saints clearly game planned to out flank the Eagles defense on the perimeter, Eagles lack overall defensive speed and are vulnerable on the edge

What’s evident on film is that Bush draws coverage based on alignment, shifting and motion and route running, and that opens up opportunities in the Saints passing game